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The effect of 900 MHz electromagnetic fields on biological pathways induced by electrochemotherapy.

Electromagnetic biology and medicine · 2021 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 5611

RF-EMF exposure at 349 µW/cm increased tumor hypoxia induced by electrochemotherapy and significantly increased IFN-γ compared with electrochemotherapy alone. 900 MHz radiation did not significantly affect tumor volume in tumors treated with electrochemothera…

Study snapshot

PublicationElectromagnetic biology and medicine · 2021
Study typeanimal
Reported directionMixed
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new and promising treatment strategy for cancer treatment. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of 900 MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) on the mechanisms of ECT (low voltage, high frequency) including cell permeability in vitro, and tumor hypoxia, immune system response in vivo, and on volume of tumors treated with ECT (70 V/cm, 5 kHz). The 4T1 cells were exposed to RF-EMFs at 17, 162, or 349 µW/cm power densities, using GSM900 simulator, 10 min. The cells were then put in individual groups, comprising of no treatment, chemotherapy, electric pulses (EPs), or ECT. The cell viability was evaluated. The mice with 4T1 tumor cells were exposed to RF field 10 min/day until the tumor volume reached about 8 mm. Then, the mice tumors were treated with ECT. Tumor hypoxia and immune system response was analyzed through immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay and ELISA technique, respectively. The volume of tumors was also calculated for 24 days following the treatment. The results showed that RF fields at 349 µW/cm could increase tumor hypoxia induced by ECT and cause a significant increase of Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in comparison with group ECT alone. However, 900 MHz radiations did not affect the volume of tumors treated to ECT (70 V/cm, 5 kHz) significantly. In this study, 900 MHz EMF could improve some biological pathways induced by ECT. Such a positive effect could utilize in some other treatments to increase efficacy, which should be investigated in further research.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal
Effect directionmixed
Population4T1 cells (in vitro) and mice bearing 4T1 tumors (in vivo)
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF · 900 MHz · In vitro: 10 min exposure; In vivo: 10 min/day until tumor volume reached ~8 mm
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

RF-EMF exposure at 349 µW/cm increased tumor hypoxia induced by electrochemotherapy and significantly increased IFN-γ compared with electrochemotherapy alone. 900 MHz radiation did not significantly affect tumor volume in tumors treated with electrochemotherapy.

Outcomes measured

  • Cell permeability (mechanisms of electrochemotherapy)
  • Cell viability
  • Tumor hypoxia (IHC)
  • Immune response (IFN-γ via ELISA)
  • Tumor volume over 24 days after treatment

Limitations

  • Sample size not reported in abstract
  • Specific quantitative results and statistical details not provided in abstract
  • In vivo exposure duration described as until tumor reached ~8 mm, but total number of days not stated
  • Findings are specific to 4T1 model and electrochemotherapy parameters (70 V/cm, 5 kHz)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "GSM900 simulator",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "In vitro: 10 min exposure; In vivo: 10 min/day until tumor volume reached ~8 mm"
  },
  "population": "4T1 cells (in vitro) and mice bearing 4T1 tumors (in vivo)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cell permeability (mechanisms of electrochemotherapy)",
    "Cell viability",
    "Tumor hypoxia (IHC)",
    "Immune response (IFN-γ via ELISA)",
    "Tumor volume over 24 days after treatment"
  ],
  "main_findings": "RF-EMF exposure at 349 µW/cm increased tumor hypoxia induced by electrochemotherapy and significantly increased IFN-γ compared with electrochemotherapy alone. 900 MHz radiation did not significantly affect tumor volume in tumors treated with electrochemotherapy.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in abstract",
    "Specific quantitative results and statistical details not provided in abstract",
    "In vivo exposure duration described as until tumor reached ~8 mm, but total number of days not stated",
    "Findings are specific to 4T1 model and electrochemotherapy parameters (70 V/cm, 5 kHz)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "900 MHz",
    "RF-EMF",
    "GSM900",
    "electrochemotherapy",
    "4T1",
    "tumor hypoxia",
    "IFN-γ",
    "immune response",
    "tumor volume",
    "in vitro",
    "mouse"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "cancer-therapy-adjuvant-emf",
      "weight": 0.78,
      "reason": "Study tests 900 MHz RF-EMF effects on biological pathways and outcomes in electrochemotherapy (cancer treatment context)."
    }
  ]
}
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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1080/15368378.2020.1856681
PubMed: 33306410

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